Product Description

This is the history of The Beatles told by the people who really knew them - their childhood playmates, friends, families, rivals, lovers, teachers, fellow musicians - and by John, Paul, George, and Ringo themselves. The book aims to cast new light on the band's history, with revealing accounts of the sexy, rocking, early days in Liverpool and Hamburg; the pivotal recording of "Please Please Me", their first hit; the touring triumphs and burn-outs; and the secrets behind the album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". A chorus of distinctive voices tells us how The Beatles helped get The Rolling Stones rolling, why they stopped touring in 1966 at the height of their fame, and what really led to their breakup in 1970. In their prime The Beatles were the greatest band in the history of rock'n'roll - and more. They were a force of nature, a whirlwind of magnetic energy sweeping everything along with them - fashion, film, sex, satire, rock, revolution. Their story is that of an entire generation. Yet, through it all they remained what they were at the start: four blokes, wise-cracking, easily hurt, often in love and trouble, sometimes angry, usually funny, and yet always what they always will be - the greatest rock'n'roll geniuses the world has ever produced. David Pritchard and Alan Lysaght are producers whose fascination with The Beatles began with the band's first success in England. Pritchard, a DJ from Toronto's underground radio days in the late 1960s, runs his own audio recording studio in Toronto. Lysaght is an award-winning radio producer working also on several TV documentaries and programs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2673968 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

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All the main players in the Beatles story are quoted here, including some under-represented over the years. Mona Best, for example. Highlights for me were some typically Derek comments from Derek Taylor and, overall, the 'good vibes' still felt and transmitted by those close to the action all those years ago. Most glaring omission? Nothing from Neil Aspinall, Apples' Mr Discreet and Keeper of the Flame. Well worth adding to any fans' Beatle library.

Good, but would have benefited from more narative .
This book is execelent forgetting to grips with the the history of the Beatles, however being an oral Biography some of the people in the book tend to waffle a bit and get away from the point. The book would have bebefited from more narative and pictures, and less of people's memories. That said, there are some very interesting characters with many interesing things to say. Being agapted from a radio series there are many peole who speak about the beatles so one is constantly refering to the cast list. That said, this book is an entertining, interesting read